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Welcome to Morcan Books & Films, the blog devoted to providing a unique perspective and intelligent commentary on books and films. It includes commentary on our own books and films – i.e. novels and screenplays co-written by the Morcans, and feature films produced by, or in development with, Morcan Motion Pictures.
Lance & James

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Undergrounders, or members, in our Underground Knowledge global discussion group on Goodreads, are speculating whether the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) is another invention of the West.

ISIS terrorists…Their reason for being now questioned.

Unsurprisingly, this discussion thread is one of the most active in the group.

Here’s what some of our members are saying:

I’m from the Middle East. Many people in that region believe in the conspiracy theories which holds the west the responsibility for ISIS’s rise. Unfortunately half the conspiracy theories could be true. I have no doubt that the main bulk of ISIS comes from a minority of religious extremes who believe in the idea of martyrdom and apocalypse. Most of those religious fanatics are not local to Iraq and Syria but came from other countries around the world to fight there. Having said that, I believe that some western powers contributed passively and actively in the process of ISIS making…If you track who would benefit from instigating wars in 3rd world countries I’m sure you can trace it back to large oil and weapon companies. Through these wars they maintain their business.

…and I would add to the list mining companies, Big Pharma companies and those corporations like Halliburton who do the rebuilding contracts after our (Western) nations blow these countries up! The whole charade of “fighting for peace” would be hilarious if it wasn’t for the fact that innocent people are dying.

Money, Blood and God: Who Funds Terrorism? https://www.goodreads.com/videos/9797… Tagline for the above video: It’s no secret that religious extremists in the Middle East use kidnapping and robbery to generate income — but they have investors as well. And, though you might not hear it in the news, many of these investors are US allies.

What with this, plus Russia’s supposed coming out with 9/11 inside job details, and the fact Russia have just been bombing the shit out of hospitals in Syria and ‘the west’ retaliating in response, and not to mention that the Russian P.M said this week we were heading for a new cold war… I have a bad feeling the shit’s really gonna hit the fan this year between Russia and ‘the west’…

I tend to agree with the “false flag” interpretation. I have heard another news clip (yet to be verified as true) that Trump has ordered further bombing of the Syrian army who were heading towards eastern Syria, where ISIS is. If true, this is more than deplorable.

Suggest you guys read up on the White Widow, married to the 7/7 bus bomber who was killed. Although there was a warrant out for her, the UK Home Office issued her a new UK passport a month after the bombing, she flew to JHB…Then she pops up training ISIS female fighters, then Ukraine. Who was she working for????

Do you believe society would be better off if recreational drugs were decriminalized? We’ve put this question in our latest poll to Undergrounders (members) of our Underground Knowledge discussion group on Goodreads – and interim results show two thirds of participants believe that would be the case.

Poll results to date show that 65% of participants believe society would be better off if recreational drugs were decriminalized, 20% are unsure and 15% believe society would be worse off.

Participants’ comments make interesting reading. Here’s a few examples:

It depends a great deal on the drug. It would be better off to legalize a drug like marijuana. It would not be a great idea to legalize Meth, or heroin.

I see the War on Drugs tied in with the Prison Industrial Complex…And the drug and prison industries are two of the most profitable on Earth…And that’s a real concern to me, especially when you consider most people are in jail due to committing “victimless crimes” (i.e. they never hurt anyone, but themselves).

I can’t see any benefit in legalising meth, or heroin, or a number of other horrors.

The War on Drugs is a travesty in my view as it not only hasn’t worked, but I think it was designed to never work…In that, by making drugs highly illegal, it drives the price up 10 or 100 fold what they would otherwise be. And that profit incentive increases not decreases their distribution in society…

When I lived in Amsterdam the main crime was bicycle theft, the streets where safe and there were less addicts because it was legal it lost its appeal…It’s all politics, it got nothing to do with drugs!!!

If all and sundry have access to meth, recall an awful lot of violent crime is meth related, so that would grow. If you have ever seen a true heroin addict after a good period of addiction, you would not see any benefit there.

Portugal had a huge problem with drug users, especially heroin, and they have now legalised drugs. It is far from resolved, a mess building for decades won’t be cleaned in months, but they are making good progress.

I see at least 2 dilemmas facing legalizing recreational drugs: They will be taxed to the max, making ’em prohibitively expensive and the 2nd being the cartels looking to make up for the loss.

History tells us, definitively, that it’s better to legalize vices than make them illegal–which does not stop them and just adds a lot more crime, increases the number of victims and casualties, and enriches criminals. During prohibition, crime involving alcohol was rampant, gangsters got VERY rich and everyone (rich and poor alike) continued to drink.

Right now there is a recognised problem with overuse of opioids, that is technically legally obtained drugs. Why would opening up the supply and letting everyone have a go make that problem less?

There’s a massive financial incentive to make entire communities/nations addicted…the illegality is what drives not only drug syndicates and big cartels, but also more organized criminal elements within the CIA (the biggest profiteer from the War on Drugs it seems).

HELL NO! I’m almost 37. I can proudly say I’m both alcohol and drug free. I’ve never tried weed, nor will I ever…Smoking weed would not make me a better or cooler person.

What we need to do is obliterate the Drug Barons, smugglers, and unsafe drug cutters. We also need to be wise about which drugs we legalise. Akin to Prostitution, certain drugs need to be legalised, available from approved chemists; that the drugs are the genuine article is given. Add in tax and VAT [sales tax], and rip the heart out of this illegal industry. A fair price for a genuine product.

We invite YOU to join our fast growing Underground Knowledge group! This global discussion group has been designed to encourage debates about important and underreported issues of our era. All you need is an enquiring mind and a desire to gain or share ‘underground knowledge’.

In our poll of Underground Knowledge group members on Goodreads.com, we ask, So far, how do you think Donald J. Trump is doing compared to his predecessor Barack Obama? Interim results are in – and it’s fair to say there are no surprises!

Trump vs. Obama in poll.

Poll respondents can answer Much Worse, Much Better, Don’t know/Can’t tell, Slightly Better, Slightly Worse or About the same.

So far, two thirds of respondents have voted that Trump is doing Much Worse than Obama.

Voting details follow:

Much Worse: 66%

Much Better: 12%

Don’t know/Can’t tell: 9%

Slightly better: 5%

Slightly worse: 4%

About the same: 4%

Here’s a sample of poll respondents’ comments:

“This man is a disgrace to your country, an example of pretty much everything that’s wrong in this world and should not even be compared to his predecessors. Him and Obama should not even be put in the same category.” –Alba

“…Trump; absolute dregs as a human being. BUT Obama had many flaws too. In fact I’d be grateful if you could remind me of THREE things he enacted to help ALL US citizens. Please don’t say ObamaCare; half measures avail us nothing and ObamaCare when compared to almost every other Western Public Health Care System sucks. Still 30,000,000 Americans with no access to Health Care and around 200,000,000 underinsured.” –BELLAMc.

“Trump can’t be compared to ANY president in history, let alone Obama. He’s unprecedently terrible and incredibly unqualified to be an adult, let alone a president. Anyone who thinks he’s doing better than Obama or even remotely the same needs to have their head examined.” –Marat

“Trump’s concept of public relations is just awful. But I voted “don’t know” because I am not sure what he has actually done, as opposed to tweeted.” –Ian

“This man has so many skeletons in his closet.” –Jason

“…Trump is a shell without a soul. He’s psycho, and a danger to humanity. Period…People can complain about president Obama all they want but he -in my opinion- at least was a progressive president not to mention a real man who didn’t have to have his news filtered because someone didn’t write something nice about him. I think Obama’s a good man…” –Miss

“Was it not Obama that took down Libya and attempted a coup in Egypt, all with a false narrative, a movie no less. Or how about the war in Syria raising up ISIS, training them in order to overthrow a legitimate government. I don’t think it is about who is better as I really think both were hand picked puppets doing the globalists bidding.” –Laurette

“When I talk to his supporters, the main point that they cling to is who he isn’t (Hillary Clinton). Eventually, they will have to judge him for who he is. It just seems to be taking a long time to get to that point.” –Robert

“Asking educated people how they feel about Trump. Haha…” –Brandon

“Being an intuitive, I see their massive egos are almost on a par. For me; repulsive, seriously counter-productive and off balance. Hierarchy produces such characters and we seriously need another option at this stage of the game. I’d like to suggest Democracy as an obvious alternative. It’s been waiting in the wings for a very long time.” –Linda

“Another puppet of corporate world.” –Salman

“No. 45 ( I don’t speak/write his name) is a child in a man’s body. He lacks communication skills, social skills and the list goes on. He is a proud racist! Shall I go on? Everywhere this president goes he leaves a stain, he offends and disrespect the people.” –Seymone

“He does not act with dignity, professionalism or behave like a president. He acts like a spoiled, rich, over-indulged, vulgar child. (And will someone PLEASE take his Twitter account away from him!!!!! The real lesson here is that the American public was willing to elect a vulgar twit because they were SO unhappy with the political arena in our country. That should send a damn message to the powers that be to clean up their act.” –Juli

“All politicians are equally worthless.” –R.S.

“Trump is proof that corporate CEOs make bad leaders…But Trump out trumps all other incompetent CEOs. He inherited all his wealth, lost much of it in multiple bankruptcies, and is well-known in the finance community as a bad risk. How could anyone think he’d be a good president? Add on to that his mental instability, lack of moral sense, and his treasonous behavior, what other answer could you give but “Much Worse.” –Martin

“Barack Obama has a Nobel Peace Prize. Of course it is a travesty. But Trump deserves a war prize. Trump is our most bellicose president since Theodore Roosevelt.” –P.J.

“Donald Trump is horribly unqualified for such an important position. He behaves as though the country should serve him, when his role ought to be serving the people of the nation.” –Jeff

“I am amazed that this man is still your president. Well, this is democracy at its worst. Good luck to you guys. Maybe you know better than I do. God bless.” –Practitioner

The Underground Knowledge global discussion group has been designed to encourage debates about important and underreported issues of our era. All you need is an enquiring mind and a desire to gain or share “underground knowledge”. Everyone is welcome!

Like this:

Membership of our Underground Knowledge global discussion group has topped 7,000 on Goodreads, confirming its status as one of the fastest growing groups on the popular Amazon-owned literary site for authors and readers. One glance at the myriad of discussion threads will confirm it’s also one of Goodreads’ most active groups.

What follows is a snapshot of some of the discussions that currently feature in the Underground Knowledge group…

Janet says:“I do agree that teachers are severely underpaid at every level of education. It is ok for a university to offer adjunct to those that choose that track the problem is when it is the only option. They are well educated and deserve decent benfefits. They are educating our socitey’s future leaders.”

J. says:“Do we know, with certainty, that he is wealthy? In his first bankruptcy he was personally responsible for significant debts. The multiple bankruptcies mean his credit is crap with investors. Therefore he has had to get creative to find capital for his often failing enterprises. (Hence allegations that he has been funded by Russian oligarchs through German banks.) It is possible that he is actually broke, and his lifestyle has been funded by foreign investors. If so he is massively compromised. His recent tax records could answer the question, but he refuses to release them.”

Mahesh says:“The mind is different (to) consciousness, take this example, higher animals like human beings, dogs and cats will have minds, but the cells will not have minds. They will have consciousness. So, we can say that mind is the conglomeration of many cells, and each of them is having consciousness till it has the life. Life means an ability to produce energy to sustain and reproduce itself. Therefore, the mind is the combination of many cellular systems of consciousness.”

John says:“All the agencies of power are linked by revolving doors and establishment clubs; the checks and balances on power only affect the overt, public face of power, which is all that most people see. But the effects of the ‘deep state’ can be seen everywhere, if one takes the time to look.”

Harry says:“Are we ready for a world without borders right now? Jeez no, it would be chaos. Do, as I alluded to, the majority of the world want to live in peaceful co-existence? Sure they do. Don’t believe the lies perpetrated by media. Do most people think it’s possible? Nope. Because we always seem to base what might be possible in the future on what we have done before. There is hope things can change.”

Laureen says:“How on Earth do we expect to find “the truth” of things that happened many lifetimes ago when we can’t even be sure of the motivations & consequences of present day theories. Imagine 500 or 1000yrs from now the custodians of our Earth trying to figure out what we are all about? Of course there are those who would say the Earth won’t exist for that long but those that experienced the Great Flood would have said the same and yet, here we are! “

The Underground Knowledge global discussion group has been designed to encourage debates about important and underreported issues of our era. All you need is an enquiring mind and a desire to gain or share ‘underground knowledge’.

Three Kindle copies of our new release thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) are on offer in a Christmas Crime Thriller Giveaway on Marie Lavender’s Writing in the Modern Age blog. Entries open now thru Dec. 4th.

Writing in the Modern Age was hatched from the idea that writers of all backgrounds and stages of their careers needed a safe haven of sorts, a place to come for advice and encouragement during their journeys. Over three years later, it has become so much more, embracing book lovers of any genre. Writing in the Modern Age is not only helpful for writers, but also readers who are searching for their favorite new author.

To visit the site go to: http://marielavender.blogspot.co.nz/ …It’s a must-visit for authors, readers and bookworms!

Sterling Gate Books’ latest Kindle freebie is The Catcher in the Rye Enigma: J.D. Salinger’s Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals? by James and Lance Morcan. Book #4 in The Underground Knowledge Series, it’s free to Amazon customers November 23–24PST.

It examines Salinger’s Catcher.

The Catcher in the Rye Enigma unearths the mysteries surrounding the 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger – arguably the most controversial book of all time. Nicknamed the ‘Bible of teenage angst’, the classic novel, which is frequently labeled immoral by different groups, has been banned in various parts of America over the decades. However, the main controversy, and indeed the most common reason for it being banned, was that it either inspired or was associated with some of the most infamous crimes of the 20th Century. These crimes include the murder of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of President Reagan.

Just as this book’s subtitle suggests, the reader is left to decide whether J.D. Salinger’s novel is a “Mind Control Triggering Device” or simply a “Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals.”

News Release: November 23, 2017 — New Zealand-based film production company Morcan Motion Pictures announced this week production of one of the films on its development slate received a boost with the successful international release of the crime-thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes).

Book’s launch a success.

Co-authored by father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, Silent Fear has attracted critical acclaim since its launch as a paperback and Kindle ebook on Amazon.

Amazon Top 500 reviewer Susan Elliot describes it as “A riveting crime novel.” Elliot writes, “There is so much to like about this book: the plot, the pace and the characters all came together in the most riveting crime novel that I’ve read in a long time.” She warns readers, “Do not read it on a train. You may just miss your station.”

Amazon Australia Top 50 reviewer Todd Simpson describes Silent Fear as “Simply Splendid.” Simpson writes, “There is so much to love about this entertaining and well written murder mystery…Hands down this is a wonderful book, and well worth a read.”

The Morcans, who are adapting their novel to a feature film screenplay, added Silent Fear to their production company’s development slate several years ago.

A spokesperson for the company says development of the planned feature film was delayed to accommodate the release of the novel. “That proved to be a wise decision,” he says, “given the interest the book is now generating for the movie.”

Set in a university in London, Silent Fear was inspired by the true-life murders of students at Gallaudet University, one of the world’s premiere learning institutions for the deaf and hard of hearing, in Washington, D.C. It was written under the guidance of Brent Macpherson, one of the world’s leading deaf storytellers working in film, television and other creative mediums. Macpherson is also co-producer on the film adaptation.

The premise of Silent Fear sees Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther being assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the deaf in the upmarket Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

A sequel is planned with more books in the series a possibility.

James Morcan says interest in the planned movie has already been received from film industry contacts. Speaking from Sydney, Australia, where he is based, he says the novel was crying out to be adapted because the storyline is very suited to the big screen.

“Silent Fear is a multi-genre story that has proven appeal to fans of the crime, mystery, thriller, horror, romance and sci-fi genres,” he says. “It’s exactly what movie-goers are looking for. However, we are under no illusions how difficult it is to greenlight movies so we will be aligning ourselves with a major producer to get it across the line.”

The Morcans invite expressions of interest from experienced producers.

Silent Fear is the Morcans’ eighth novel to be published under the Sterling Gate Books banner. Their other books include the international thriller series The Orphan Trilogy, and the historical adventures Into the Americas and White Spirit – both based on true stories – and Fiji.